Another Door
by Graywolf144
Summary: A different take on a F Cousland Leliana story Rated teen for f/f romance Reviews are welcome


Elisa woke beside Leliana with a smile on her face  
She quietly slipped out of her tent. She may not have been as stealthy as other rogues but she was quiet enough not to wake her companion. She went to the fire to warm herself; the night was beautiful but a bit chill. She looked over and could see Shale standing watch. She also saw Thunder asleep but his legs were moving. Fergus used to say he was chasing rabbits. After all they'd been thru recently he was probably chasing dark spawn. She smiled at her dog. In a way he had helped her get close to Leliana. They had been traveling together for a while and she wanted to know why Elisa had named him Thunder. She had explained that for all his fierceness he was scared of the sound of thunder. Highever being on the northern coast would sometimes get spectacular storms with thunder as loud as dwarven blasting powder. Thunder had looked a little embarrassed but Leliana had patted him and told him it was ok. That she herself could not stand closed in spaces. That had led them to talking more and about a week later Leliana had complemented her on her hair of all things. When all of this started she had felt she should have died with her parents; should have been with them. But she was now in a position to do some good and stop the blight. And along the way she had made some good friends, some very good friends. She turned back to her tent and thinking of Leliana perhaps more then a friend.

Lisa woke beside her lazy boy with a frown on her face.  
She stretched and yawned and headed to the bathroom to shower. She didn't like sleeping on the floor but the mattress was too soft and it made her back ache. After the shower she headed to the kitchen to take her pills. She used to keep them in the bathroom but the number of pills kept increasing until they wouldn't fit in the medicine chest any more. On the way she checked the AC; it said it was 78 but she felt cold and turned it up to 82. That was another thing she hated about being sick. She was cold all the time. The irony wasn't lost on her that Miami was having a record heat wave but while the temperature was nice the bright sun gave her massive headaches. So she kept the curtains drawn and the thermostat turned up. It wasn't like she had to worry about the bill. The one good thing was that she had been spared the pain. She had been terrified that she would be in excruciating pain but apparently her type didn't cause that. Just feeling lousy, sore, muscle ache and if she slept wrong bad back pain. She heard the knock on the door and went to let in Clarence; he was the nurse assigned to her cottage and he was good. He didn't waste time on chit chat or ask how she was doing. Just took her vitals and a blood sample and then quietly left. She made herself eat something even though her appetite had been spotty the past month or two. She went to the stereo and put in the Broadway soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera then booted her computer back up.

Elisa woke beside Leliana with a smile on her face.  
She stared down at the sleeping bard who had a small smile on her face and smiled again. They were making progress; gathering the allies they needed. And she was getting even closer to Leliana. When she and Fergus had been younger they had been notorious for competing in everything. From arms where her quickness and speed matched up against his strength and shield; to skills where his surprisingly good singing voice entertained their mother while her ability to open locks had kept her and her father in Nan's pies; to the ladies of Highever. She smiled again thinking of the lecture they had gotten when they had been caught with the Donnell sisters. Her mother saying they were like a pair of dogs. Her father hadn't helped himself when he made the comment that since Fergus was older it made her the pup. She and Fergus had to cough to cover themselves up and both slipped away as her mother turned on her father. The pain was still there but it was getting better. She had seen father in the gauntlet and the guilt she had felt for leaving them was gone. She would see this through and come out the other side. And waiting there would be Leliana. The only other time she had felt like this was surprisingly the night of the attack with Iona. She had seen her and something inside had twitched. Something might have developed had she lived but now there was Leliana. Fergus had said that when he met Oriana he felt heart touched. She didn't know what he meant but she knew know. She settled back into the bedroll and put her arm around her bard.

Lisa woke beside her lazy boy with a frown on her face.  
She'd had a bad few days. They'd tried a new drug but all it did was make her skin itch while she threw up for a few hours. She also had her weekly counseling session and out of all the councilors she drew Mrs. Forrest. A nice enough lady but she was so naturally sweet and upbeat that spending more then ten minutes with her made her want to scream. Yes, she was accepting her situation; no, she didn't want to cry; no she most definitely did not want a hug. Yes she had already made final plans. She had already sold off or given away anything important before coming here. Her parents had died years earlier with the relationship dying years before that with both of them 'No dear, not angry just disappointed in your choice of lifestyle'. She shook her head. What was past was past. Today was one of the days when she had no appetite so she had her pills for lunch then put on Romeo & Juliet by Prokofiev and turned on her computer.

Elisa woke beside Leliana with a smile on her face.  
They were so close; tomorrow was the Landsmeet and then they could face the blight. Alistair had been reluctant but she had convinced him that for the good of the country he would need to marry Anora and become king. She had also let him know that it would be a double wedding. She had been thinking about it and one night after making love with Leliana they had made small talk and she looked into those wonderful eyes and the words just came out. Then her heart almost stopped when Leliana said yes. Then it got even better after the events in the alienage. After they had stopped the slavers they had cleared the orphanage of a demon infestation and earned the thanks of Valendrian. She had told him that when everything was settled the elves would have help in rebuilding when a child with familiar eyes caught her attention. He said her name was Amethyne daughter of Iona and she was currently moving from house to house while he tried to find someone to take her in. She had pulled Leliana apart from the others and explained about Iona and the night of the attack and wondered if they could if maybe they should that is if she didn't mind. But Leliana merely raised her hand to get her to stop babbling and said of course it would be fine. A child needs a mother. They had talked to Valendrian explaining the situation and he had smiled and said after the blight he would arrange everything. It was strange but before all this she hadn't really known what she wanted. Hadn't really had a direction. Now though she had passed thru the fire and the flame and found the sweetness on the other side. The thought of a family with Leliana and Amethyne was everything she could imagine and thirty years until her calling would be enough time for Amethyne to start a family of her own. She thanked the Maker for his gifts and rolled back over.

Lisa woke beside her lazy boy without a frown on her face.  
She felt odd today. The pain had receded and she actually had an appetite. Even better the sweltering heat had finally broken and it was raining; flooding down in buckets rain. She showered, took her pills and went out for lunch. She stopped at her favorite Australian themed restaurant where she had a big steak and cheese fries with bacon and ranch dressing. She smiled a bit as she ate them; unhealthiest food in America but she didn't have to worry about that and they tasted so good. She even had room for dessert. She went home and cleaned; she didn't know why but for the first time in a long time she had energy. She finished up and then put on Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture and prepared to face the Archdemon.

Elisa woke beside Leliana with a smile on her face.  
She saw Leliana smiling at her and asked if they were dead. Leliana had laughed and said no they were in the royal palace healing from the battle and the blight was over. She also wanted to know why she thought she was dead. Elisa had shrugged, telling her that growing up she thought that when you returned to the fade in the land of the dead you created the place you were the happiest, the most content. And she couldn't think of any place better then to be with her. Leliana had blushed at that and told her that no it was just the palace but they had all day to rest and recover since tomorrow would be the coronation and wedding of Alistair and Anora as well as their own. Elisa had kissed Leliana asking if they had to rest the entire day which caused Leliana to laugh again and return the kiss.

Clarence found her on the floor next to the lazy boy with a smile on her face. She hadn't answered the door and he had let himself in. He had worked at the Cottages for several years since his own wife had gotten ill and had come here. He had seen a lot of patients whose time had come. Some looked at peace, some looked puzzled, a couple looked like they were still in the pain that had been with them until the end but only a few had smiles on their face. He went over and called administration to let them know. They'd send the ambulance to take care of her body. Then he turned off the heat and went over to the computer. She apparently had been playing some type of game because there was a splash screen that said Elisa returned with Leliana to help rebuild the Grey Wardens into a force respected across Ferelden. And even though they faced many challenges and dangers; they were always together for the rest of their days. He turned off the computer and the lights but left the door unlocked and walked out into the rain.

Elisa woke beside Leliana with a smile on her face.


End file.
